Teaching students to write for a specific purpose is one of my favorite skills to teach. Students enjoy drawing sketches that illustrate different writing purposes. See Activity 1 below. And who doesn’t love eating doughnuts? See Activity 3.
Teaching students to write for a specific purpose is found in the Common Core State Writing Standards:Continue Reading
Below I have included highlights from a PowerPoint Presentation on Narrative Writing, I presented to a group of 5th graders. The text reads as if giving instructions to students. Below the article are links to the PowerPoint and a printable handout for students to use in assessing their narrative writing.
Number 1 – Strong Beginning
Your story needs a strong beginning. You can achieve this using one of the following methods:Continue Reading
Have you ever wondered exactly how big Earth’s sun is? Do you know how far away the sun is from Earth? Did you know the polarity of the sun reverses every 11 years? Learn ten interesting facts about Earth’s Sun in this article.
1. Description
Our sun is 4.59 billion years old. It is a Yellow Dwarf with a diameter of 1,392,684 kilometers. The surface temperature is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5500 degrees Celsius), and its core is around 27 million degrees Fahrenheit (13,600,000 degrees Celsius).Continue Reading
Before students can write a persuasive essay, they must understand different persuasive techniques. This series of blog posts teach four methods using commercials to make studying the skill interesting.
Introducing the Lesson
Writing persuasive essays can be both fun and challenging for students. I usually begin my persuasive essay unit with brainstorming ways people are persuaded. This almost always leads to advertising. I usually select half a dozen or so current commercials to show in class. These encourage students to think creatively. Students especially enjoy Super Bowl commercials. Continue Reading
Have you ever wondered what caused the Great Depression? What was Black Tuesday? Learn the answers to these questions and other interesting facts with this article. Download the printable version for your students to read in class.
Black Tuesday
On October 29, 1929, the stock market lost $14 billion. During the week of Black Tuesday, the stock market lost $30 billion. This would be equivalent to $377,587,032,770.41 today.
Photos
Dorothea Lange’s photo of Florence Thompson with several of her children has become a moving symbol of the Great Depression.Continue Reading